8 out of top 10 paid apps for iOS are at least a year old, Android is somewhat better

0.phoneArena
03 Jan 2013, 00:30posted on

It really seems like smartphone app stores need to come up with a better algorithm for showing what the top paid apps are, because it seems that those titles don't change all that much. Apparently, 8 out of the top 10 paid apps for iOS are from franchises that are at least a year old, and some of the titles are much older than that...

yes it is but developers should start focussing on more useful apps which are fun to use and serve a purpose...most developers these days just make games to get rich....that reduces the variety of the kind of apps available

What are the parameters set to label "top" apps? Number of downloads? Highest ratings? A bit of both or just whichever the store owner decides upon by some other arbitrary means?

I wonder if by labeling certain apps "top" apps if these are just the ones people will download anyhow thus making it a self-fulfilling prophecy. I think it's long been said that regardless of the numbers app stores are claiming to have, there are only ever a few which people will actually use anyhow.

I'd like to see one of these companies just try a little marketing research experiment (if they haven't done so already) and put an app they know is absolutely horrendous in the top apps section and just see what kind of download numbers they get and then check back in a few weeks to see if the same people still have the same app listed among their catalog of installed apps.

if those apps continue to be purchased my new iphone/iPad users, then they deserve to be at the top regardless of how long they've been there. Top songs dont stick around for long because people stop buying them....

But at the end it doesnt really change the fact that iphone apps are better than the apps in the play store. Thats what needs changing.

Although I also noticed the Google charts' flaws in consistency and relevance - on the desktop Google play site some apps are still ahead of some new ones despite having far less downloads and rates. For example games like Anomaly Korea, Zombie highway, Bloons and Farming simulator are ahead of a Modern Combat 4 blockbuster which is obviously not true.

For some reason, things are different on the Google play Android app and they reflect reality better

App store is tons better than the play store. Just read the comments of the Android users that review the apps lol. Why do I see the phrase "the iphone version" appear so often in the play store? Still waiting for Fifa 13 to come to the play Store. There's even a fan-made "Fifa 13 for Android" facebook page.....sucks.

I really didn't think I had to spell it out. I'm not criticizing the fact that there's a fan made fifa 13 facebook page. I'm saying that it sucks that Android users have to practically beg on the internet for developer attention.

I have and use apps on both platforms and that door swings both ways. I have a few Android versions that run circles around the iOS version. Sometimes just getting the game to load on its is an achievement. Even when it does load, my hopes are quickly dashed by a crash soon after. So IMO, Android wins hands down.

I have also used applications on both OS and strongly disagree. The problem with a lot of Android apps is that it has to run on a huge variety of devices, both high and low-end. There are so many apps with sub-par graphics, low-res images, buggy and slow, etc etc. A lot of times the applications on Android are not even full versions of the iOS ones.

Why is the acrobat reader app in the play store so stuttery when moving through pages when compared to the iOS version (project butter? where are you?). Where is Fifa 13!! Why does Fifa 12 on the Note II look like crap when compared to the iOS version. Go read the comments on the play store for Plants vs Zombies cause Android users who've used the iOS version are pissed! Why do developers pay so much attention to the iOS version of Facebook and so little to Android versions. Why haven't apps like GroupMe and Flickr been updated for Android. I'm not a twitter user but from what I hear the twitter apps in the app store as a whole are tons better. Why does the Android version of Documents to go lack access to a lot of the cloud storage sites like dropbox? Why is the iPhone version of Documents to go so much slicker than the Android version (again, where is project butter). Why does the 2do app lack all the syncing options that the iOS app has. Even 2-3 years later, Android still has yet to come up with a worthy competitor to iMovie/ReelDirector. And these are just apps that both Android and iOS have. There are great apps like Sketches 2, Brushes, Action Movie, ActionShot, etc etc that are not in the Play Store at all. I think the Play Store focuses waaaay too much on keyboards, launchers, weather/calendar widgets, etc.

To be fair, the good thing about Android applications is that
1. applications like dropbox (unlike iPhone) have access to all your files in your device and all your applications
2. though I still think most widgets are useless and mainly for design puposes, there are a couple of really good ones that come with apps.

Please point me in the direction of some applications that run circles around iOS because I haven't encountered many/any. I would honestly love to be proven wrong. I bought the Note II full retail to play with it, and even though its huge I'm considering using it as my primary device. But that doesn't mean I'm going all of a sudden turn stupid and believe everything on Android is better. At least judging from the apps I downloaded and use, Play Store doesn't touch the App store.

gee willikers.. I can hardly believe that you took the time to try to dis android for iOS.

Its not about "running circles around" anything. And for that part, point me to a dozen apps that I would use regularly that run circles around android versions.
An easy one for android would be G Maps vs Apple maps.. Google Now vs Siri.

When it comes to the big important things, Android wins. Great, your version of plants vs aliens is nicer. wooo hooo.. I'll take everything else. BTW, if you take the exact same game and put it on a 3.5 inch screen and a 4.5 inch screen, its going to look better on the 3.5 inch because the pixels are smaller and your eye smooths out the details.
People go on the internet to complain, not compliment. So when there is an app with a dozen complaints and 3 compliments, I tend to listen to the compliments first.

Which 3rd party developer makes Google Maps and Google Now? Oh right its created by Google and comes with every Android device, making your comment pretty damn irrelevant. Same goes for Siri and Apple. lol I wrote a ton of 3rd party apps and the only thing you picked out was Plants vz Zombies?

Once again, in comes remixfa adding pretty much nothing to the conversation.

As for what you said about the screen sizes, its a load of crap. Why is it that games like Angry birds look arguably better on bigger screen Android devices when compared to iphone and other games look terrible? Its because the developers aren't taking the time to make a great Android version. But I guess being on Android for so long, you're just not accustomed to 5 star applications

You bring up some valid points, so dont think I'm saying your wrong. But it's like everything else in the ol' Android vs iOS battle, it's based on personal preference and most of all popularity.

The iPhone was a much sought after device long before it was even announced simply because it was an Apple product. As such, people will buy it and invest in it for that reason alone. The 4S was the perfect example. People who were initially pissed that there was absolutely no change to the device, went out and spent $600 on it anyway, just to say they had a 4S! Its a status symbol, wether good or bad, it is what it is and as such, there are people who throw money into it just for the sake of looking or being cool.

Take that "I'm Rich" app. It wasn't a game, not an app, absolutely no functionality to it AT ALL. It was a simple, do nothing icon with a sole purpose to let everyone who looked at the screen know that you were rich. And there were suckers who coughed up a $1,000 just to have that app! Now, if you're a developer seeing all these suckers buy a $1,000 jpeg, wouldn't you stop working on that Brick Breaker 2 you spent months coding for Blackberry and shift your focus to where the suckers are?

That said, not everyone with an iPhone is a sucker. Yourself, DarkJedi, Jeffdabeat, Wendy, Chaoticrazor and many others are proof that iOS isn't just for the masses, but for the tech geeks, nerds and intellectuals too. But if I were a developer, I'm going to where the "cool kids" are. Even if the other guys are better.

are you looking at the top "grossing" games? The games you mentioned probably have heavy in app purchasing. That can bump up their gross pretty far. the biggest money makers on all platforms are in-app purchasing games.

This is a bad article with a misleading title that is designed only to start a flame war with your readers. PA, you are a shameful excuse for a technology blog, and I will no longer support you with my readership.

15 best RPG games for iPhone and Android

Best iPhone camera apps

All content (phone reviews, news, specs, info), design and layouts are Copyright 2001-2015 phoneArena.com. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part or in any form or medium without written permission is prohibited! Privacy . Terms of use . Cookies . Team